Friday, March 18, 2011

BOOK ONE (Part 7 con't.) jazz dance camp, self-help

To his wife he was not committed, so let us instead consider my mum, who was the first housewife of my consciousness. Before her Avon sales representative she was tremendously devout; before her fellow-housewives she never stooped to bid for popularity by buying a full set of Tupperware, but pursued her own studious and selfhelp-fortified way,

...disdaining anything that savoured of pretension. She did not accept without either complacency or serious muttering a lack of material comforts as fortune (and her divorce) had left at her disposal. When she had better years, she would give us skis for Christmas and register me in jazz dance camp,

Translator's Note (On dignified detachment & pee around the toilet)

It must be admitted that this work begins and ends with mistranslation.It might be more of a transcription; writing his meditations into the text of my own (often rubber-gloved) life.

Marcus Aurelius Antonius Augustuswas co-Emperor (Pontifex Maximus) of the Roman Empire from 161-180. A "philosopher king" he is widely credited as being the last of the Five Good Emperors for exemplifying virtue, self-discipline, and inner tranquility. While on military campaign from 170-180, Aurelius wrote his Mediations; thoughts directed to himself, in the form of an elevated diary. The Meditations are profoundly moving and vastly wise. Aurelius' ethical reasoning, his balanced moral teaching, and his dignified detachment are widely acknowledged to be one of the most important pieces of writing outlining stoic philosophy. I encourage you to read the original. This is my copy, which you can't borrow.

But because most housework makes me angry, and raising children is intensely emotional, I'm thinking that if I translate his text (and philosophy) into terms bound up with my experience as a housewife, even if I have to wipe pee from around the toilet, I will learn how to be more stoic.

I want to find out if wisdom and depth can survive (or even be inspired by) the often tedious duties of day-to-day motherhood.

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